Losses from hacks and scams in the cryptocurrency industry soared in 2024, with bad actors making billions in funds.
According to Web3 security firm PeckShield’s 2024 annual reportCrypto investors lost $3.01 billion in 2024, nearly 15% more than the previous year.
However, this is still less than the $3.6 billion loss in 2022.
Hacks were the primary driver behind last year’s losses, with cyber attacks accounting for more than 70% of the money lost, while scams contributed to the remainder.
The decentralized finance sector was the most targeted, and it dominated centralized finance in both the frequency and severity of attacks.
According to the report, the loss caused by the hack was estimated at $2.15 billion, which is almost equal to the total loss in 2023, which is $2.61 billion.
Meanwhile, scammers managed to defraud crypto investors of an additional $834.5 million.
In terms of monthly deficit, May was particularly devastating when the deficit exceeded $662 million. Lowest recorded in December There was a loss of $46.5 million in 2024.
July and August also saw substantial illegal activities, with losses exceeding $280 million each.
A large portion of the annual losses came from just three events, which totaled $833 million.
The biggest hacks of 2024
dmm bitcoin
from japan dmm bitcoin The highest loss was recorded in 2024 when exploiters withdrew approximately $305 million from the platform after compromising its private keys.
PlayDapp
South Korean crypto gaming and NFT platform PlayDapp suffered one of the largest hacks of 2024, losing $290 million in an attack between February 9 and February 12.
The attack was caused by a private key breach, which allowed the attackers to add a new miner to the platform.
WazirX
July hack of Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX There was a stir in the local market after bad actors withdrew user assets worth $230 million from the exchange’s hot wallet.
The hackers managed to gain access to 4 of the 6 signatures required to sign a transaction, allowing them to upgrade the wallet to a malicious contract.
An unnamed Bitcoin-related scam also ranked in the top three in terms of losses, with victims losing around $238 million.
Increase in crypto crime
a first report The recent findings are supported by Web3 security firm Syverse.
Notably, the number of hacking incidents in the crypto sector increased by more than 40% in 2024.
The researchers cited access control breaches as the primary attack vector, accounting for 81% of total losses in 2024.
These breaches occur when attackers exploit vulnerabilities in authentication systems, permissions settings, or private key management to gain unauthorized access to critical infrastructure.
Post PeckShield says crypto losses due to hacks and scams to exceed $3 billion in 2024 first appeared on Invez
